Beauty and the Werehog
by SonicKnuxMiku25096
Summary: Sonic has taken full advantage of his heroic reputation. But once Beatrice the Golden Witch pays him a visit, his life of endless attention is put to an abrupt halt. In his new werehog form, Sonic is forced with a choice: find a girl that he actually falls in love with, or stay as a monster forever.
1. Prologue, Chapters 1 and 2

Beauty and the Werehog

-Sonic's POV-

**Prologue:**

I whizzed down the concrete streets as the bottom of my shoes heated up. I couldn't help but grin as several of the people watching gaped at my unmatchable speed. The wind seemed to be pushing at my back, propelling me forward. When it changed directions, I went along with it. The sun shone down brightly on my blue fur. I took a deep breath of the clean, fresh air. Life couldn't get any better.

But that was also the day that she came. That was the day I got a huge wake up call. But I didn't know it yet. As a matter of fact, it was the last thing that I had expected.

The wind gave a slow and steady stop, and so did I. When I came to a full stop, I found myself right smack in the middle of town, just outside the High School.

"Hi Sonic!" a chorus of girls cried out. I turned and gave them all a familiar grin. They giggled and ran up to me.

"Hello ladies," I greeted. They all wrapped themselves around my arms. They were girls of almost every species on Mobius. Lawrenceville was a pretty diverse town.

"So, what ya up to today, Sonic?" a girl cat named Celeste asked flirtingly.

I kept the grin on my face and shrugged. "I don't know… Just running around wherever the wind takes me…"

They all giggled again. A girl fox named Alicia started to gently run her index finger down my chest. "Well, if that's _all _you're doing… Well, we were wondering if you'd like to come with us to dinner tonight…"

I let out a sarcastic sigh and looked up at the sky, putting on an exaggerated and purposeful sad expression. "Well, I am pretty booked right now…"

They all let out a chorus of "Awww!"s. I looked at all of them again and grinned again. "But, I guess I could open up a spot just for you girls… All right, how about 8 o'clock at the Wellborne, on me."

"Ok," they all said happily. I waved them all goodbye as they sadly let go of me. They each blew me a kiss as I ran off towards the sunset.

I walked home with my arms folded behind my head. I smiled at the sky, enjoying every moment of my awesome life. I had about four hours to kill before my large date. I knew I had to come up with something to stop myself from dying of boredom. As I approached the quiet neighborhood, I could hear a faint flutter of wings behind me. I turned around quickly, but nothing was there. I shook my head furiously.

_Come on, Sonic, get a grip. You can't start going loco now… _ I turned around and kept walking closer to my house. I could still hear those dang wings… I chose to ignore them, realizing that it was probably just an annoying butterfly or something. But then, I heard a voice.

"So, this is how you choose to spend your life? The Hero of Mobius turns out to be a playboy who just loathes any attention he can get."

I froze for a second. After a moment, I turned around, my eyes wide, and looked into the deep blue eyes of a beautiful woman with blonde hair braided and wrapped around into a hive in the back. A big red rose was pinned to the right side of her hair, two strands of the golden curls hanging down. She was wearing an old-fashioned brown and gold dress that had a bow placed symmetrically in the center. She looked at me thoughtfully, her eyes deep with playfulness. A slight smile was spread across her lips. I gaped at her, not entirely sure as to who she was, or where she had come from.

"Wh-Who are you?" I managed to mutter.

"I am called many names. But you may call me Beatrice the Golden Witch. Although, I suppose you won't see me again after today."

"Wait… What are you talking about? Why are you here? What does a witch want with me? I mean, I guess genies and other magical beings have talked to me and asked me to do crazy things before…"

"I can now see how fake your reputation is. You speak of the many adventures you have gone on, but you say them in the most arrogant ways. You only help others so that you may win the hearts' of countless women. Your hubris sickens me, for it shows how black your heart truly is. It is time you learn the true meaning of heroism."

She conjured an old-fashioned thin pipe into her right hand where a gold ring with a one-winged eagle imprinted on it sat on her ring finger. She waved the pipe a few times, several golden butterflies appearing. They engulfed me as Beatrice spoke again.

"Until the one your heart chooses as best appears before you and gives you all her love, you shall live out your life as a creature of the night who roams in the shadows and strikes fear upon all."

My head started to spin as I felt my body disappearing and everything going black.

**Chapter One:**

I groaned as I slowly regained my senses. I almost instantly remembered Beatrice's words… I looked down at myself frantically and was relieved to find out that I was still myself.

"Tch," I scoffed, "Stupid witch… What a load of crap… Such a waste of time…" I kicked a pebble as hard as I could and watched it skitter across the grass. I stroked my soft spikes and smiled, remembering my big date.

"Well, the sun's starting to set, so I'd say I have about an hour." I whistled softly as I walked and smoothed the spikes. The Sun dipped lower and lower into the horizon, setting the perfect tone for an almost guaranteed perfect night. The witch's words slowly dissipated into the back of my mind. But when the moon started to show itself more clearly, I got this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something wasn't right, that I knew now. I clutched my stomach as it cringed in pain.

"Ugh… Not now… I can't get sick now…" I muttered. But soon, the pain got worse, much worse. I fell to the ground in pain. I opened my mouth and started to let out a yell of pain. I could feel something happening to me. I didn't know what it was, but something was happening. The pain kept spreading throughout my body. After nearly half a minute, the pain settled in slightly. I grunted as I slowly rose to my feet. I staggered slightly on my feet. I suddenly felt heavier for some reason. I looked up at the full moon as it shone brightly in the dark sky.

I sighed as the pain slowly subsided completely.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to head over there now." As I began to walk back into town, my hands started to feel chilly and the wind blew on me in a strange way. I felt like I had something covering my entire body that made the wind drag me down slightly. I didn't focus too much on it though. I just kept walking, having no idea that something was wrong.

I could see the Wellborne in the distance. I looked up at the giant clock in the middle of the town. It had just struck 8 o'clock. I smiled. _Right on time. _As I walked down the street with my usual swag, people on the sidewalk started staring at me in an unusual way. Nothing I was doing was different, but for some reason, they all just stared at me like I had randomly caught on fire. I looked around in bewilderment, wondering why they were so cautious all of a sudden. When I reached the restaurant, I heard a woman sitting outside let out a slight cry of shock and drop her glass. I kept on walking but couldn't help but watch the glass shatter on the ground.

I could see the girls waiting for me just outside. I subconsciously smoothed out my spikes again.

"Hey, ladies," I said coolly. They all turned towards me at the sound of my voice. Their happy faces suddenly turned to horror. They all screamed and started to run off. I looked at them in confusion.

"Hey, what's wrong? Where are you going?" But I didn't get an answer. As I looked around the rest of the town, everyone had turned to look at me. Their eyes were wide, some hands covering their mouths'. Pairs whispered to each other as I stood there in bafflement. Everyone was looking at me, but not in a good way. I took off down the street, wanting to get as far away from there as possible. But I couldn't run as fast. I huffed as I tried to go to an all-out sprint all the way to my house.

**Chapter Two:**

I took long, hard, deep breaths. Why did running make me so tired now? I could run for miles and never break a sweat. But now, I felt like I had been running around the world ten times straight. I walked down the hallway, unable to get my thoughts away from those peoples' stares. As I walked past a mirror, I couldn't help but give a quick glance at my reflection. I took a few steps, but did a quick double-take. I stared at myself longer. I stared at myself in shock…

Fangs were poking out of my gray muzzle. My fur had turned to a midnight blue color. There were white tips on my spikes and near my hands. My gloves were gone, revealing my gray hands and sharp claws. My arms were more muscular, and my voice was definitely deeper. The red shoes on my feet had spikes on the bottom and where the white straps used to be. I looked down at myself, my gray-furred stomach, my larger hands, my muscular shaggy arms. I put my face in my hands and shook my head in disbelief.

"No, no, no, no, no… This isn't happening… There's no way this is happening…" Why was this happening to me? _How _did this happen to me? Then, in that moment, I remembered… I remembered the witch… What was her name…? Beatrice…? Her words rang through my head. _Until the one your heart chooses as best appears before you and gives you all her love, you shall live out your life as a creature of the night who roams in the shadows and strikes fear upon all. _

Stupid witch… She had actually done it… She had actually made her own words true… I was a monster, and there was nothing I could do about it…

_I have to find Beatrice. _I ran straight out the door and sprinted down the street, not caring who saw me.

I found myself running down a dark alley when I finally spotted her. Instead of wearing that ridiculously large dress, she had on a short red ruffled skirt, a shirt that looked like something a female college student would wear, black boots, and knee-high red and black striped socks. Her arms folded and back facing me, she was walking down the alley, illuminated by only the street light in the road ahead. I ran up to her and abruptly grabbed one of her arms. She turned around and stared at me curiously.

"Ok, I get it! I know what it's like to be ugly!" I yelled, "Now please, change me back!"

The Golden Witch simply laughed softly but cruelly at me. "How pitiful, child, that after only half a night, you've already had enough. But that is beside the point. The main reason for me turning you into this monster was so that you would be able to start a fresh new life so that you may learn what it means to be a true hero."

"But… I only turned like this is at night time… So, will I go back to normal in the morning?"

Her smile broadened. "No. You shall stay like this so that no one may recognize you. Even when the sun rises again, you will still be the same."

"Wait… But, couldn't I just tell people that I'm Sonic?"

"Would they honestly believe you?"

Without saying another word, she freed herself from my grasp and slowly walked out into the crowded street on the other side of the alley. I started to walk behind her and tried to catch her, but I realized that she was getting lost in the crowd, and there was no way I was going to be able to find her. Plus, I really didn't want to get spotted again in such an ugly form. I sighed deeply, hanging my head low as I began to make my slow trip home.

I sat down on my soft couch feeling lousier than I had ever felt in my life. It sucked being lonely. I had the money, the house, the looks, the girls… And all of that had just suddenly been reduced to nothing. Why did that stupid witch have to take my life? What did she want with me? What did I ever do to her? I growled under my breath. It was so unfair… And apparently the only way to turn it all back around was to find some girl who I actually loved.

_Tch, easier said than done. _I put my chin in my hands as I put my elbows on my knees. There were hundreds of girls just in Lawrenceville alone. How on Mobius was I supposed to find one girl that would change my ill-fate?


	2. Chapter 3, 4 and 5

**Chapter Three:**

I slowly opened one of my eyes as I stared into the small stream of sunlight coming through my bedroom window. I grunted as I sat up and rubbed my eyes open. I looked down at my gray hands, still in shock that I had been transformed into such a terrifying beast. I groaned and laid back down on the bed, covering myself with the sheets. I used to jump out of bed and run straight out the door, eager to start the day. But now, I had absolutely no desire to move from my spot. I almost instantly fell back asleep from my own misery and realization that no one would ever want to see me again. Even if I did find a girl that made my heart throb, she would probably be scared of me anyways, so what was the use in looking for her? I tossed and turned in bed as nightmares disrupted my sleep.

I could still see those peoples' stares haunting me in my dreams… I could hear Beatrice's laugh causing me to shiver… I could see my beastly reflection through the mirror… But I wasn't the only one in the mirror. Soon, Beatrice was standing behind me, her cruel smile appearing on her face to accompany her teasing eyes…

I woke up with a start, beads of sweat standing on my forehead. I forced myself to slow down my breathing.

_Ok, I'm not going outside, but I'm sure as heck not going back to sleep. _I slowly got out of bed and meandered into the living room. I sat down on the couch and yawned loudly. So bored… I stood up and dragged my stretchable arms on the floor as I walked towards the front door. I pulled a chair along with me and put it by the front window. I sat down and hugged my knees to my chest as I stared out into the streets in front of my house. I watched the cars drive by and the people walk or jog on the sidewalks. At first, I just watched them all in a daze, not really paying attention to who was who. But a second later, when it was almost too late, I noticed Celeste, Alicia, and the other girls I was supposed to have gone out with the night before come walking up to the door.

I instantaneously snapped the blinds shut and didn't dare to make a sound. _Ding dong, knock, knock, knock. _I didn't even flinch. I just stared at the door in anticipation. _Ding dong, knock, knock, knock. _My breathing felt hollow in my chest as I continued to stay frozen to the spot. _Ding dong, knock, knock, knock. _

_ Oh my gosh, take a hint and leave already! _

"Sonic?" Alicia. "Sonic, it's us. Where were you last night?" she asked rather snappily.

I snorted. _Trust me, I was there._

"Sonic?" A few seconds passed. When I gave no answer, I heard their footsteps as they walked off of the porch and back onto the sidewalk. I opened the blinds again as I watched them walk back down the street. I grunted and crossed my arms.

"'Where were you last night'… Do I really look THAT different? And besides, what do they think, that I blew them off for someone else?"

At first, I mocked them for the way that they tried to make it out like I was cheating on them, but a second later, the pain settled into my heart. They could walk around and act like I was still me. But I would be forced to look in the mirror every day knowing that I would probably never be the same again.

I sighed and put my chin in my hand as I leaned against the window sill. As I looked outside, I saw a human girl that was oddly familiar walking towards the group of girls. I had met her once before… Her name was Christina… We had met outside the high school one time when I was with the other girls:

_I had my arms wrapped around two of the girls as we laughed and joked around under one of the giant oak trees. I looked over and saw a girl looking over at us, me in particular. When we made slight eye contact, her face turned red and she looked back down at her work. I studied her for a second or two. She had been staring over at me ever since I had arrived. At first, I shrugged it off and just continued to entertain the girls. But once again, I saw her staring at me. I glared at her. _

_ "You want something?" I yelled over at her._

_ She looked at me in shock, her blush getting darker. She tried to avoid my stare as she replied, "Oh… No, not really…"_

_ "Please, if you have something to say, don't be shy about it." _

_ She looked at all of the girls around me one by one. She nervously cleared her throat and stared at me again. "Um… Well, I just wondering… You know…"_

_ "Wondering what?" _

_ She put her head down, clearly too embarrassed to continue. Celeste leaned closer to me and whispered, "That's Christina. She's a total freak."_

_ "I heard that she has this fantasy that you and her are going to go out sometime," Alicia whispered to me. _

_ I couldn't help but laugh. "ME and HER? Seriously?"_

_ Christina seemed to hear me, because she looked up at me again. I stared mockingly at her. "If you honestly thought that you and I were gonna go out together, you got another thing coming."_

_ The other girls laughed at this. Christina's eyes filled with melancholy as they continued to snicker at her. "I mean… I didn't really want to go out necessarily… I just wanted to hang out or something…"_

_ The girls all turned and glared at her. _

_ "Did you honestly think that Sonic would even remotely want to be seen anywhere near you?" one mocked. _

_ "Wow, you really are clueless," another one yelled. _

_ "Seriously, why are you even alive?" Celeste shouted. _

_ "If I were you, I'd just die right now," Alicia said._

_ Tears quickly filled Christina's eyes as she started to cry. She hastily picked up all of her stuff, threw it in her bag and ran off, sobbing as she went. _

I could still see that same sorrow in her eyes, as if that day was haunting her. For some reason, she seemed a lot prettier than what I remembered…

She was carrying a ton of binders and notebooks, not only in her hands, but also in her bag.

"Nerd," I muttered. As she passed the girls, they deliberately pushed her over, causing her to drop all of her stuff all over the concrete. They laughed as they continued to walk, leaving Christina to pick up all of her stuff. A few tears fell down her cheeks as she tried to gather everything back into her arms.

I don't know why, but I felt really bad for pushing her over really necessary? I made sure that no one was around before I opened the door and ran to her side.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah…" she replied, "Thanks…"

I picked up some of her stuff and handed it to her. She put it in a pile before finally scooping it up into her arms. She gave me a grateful smile before turning and walking away. I watched her from behind as she continued on her way. She hadn't screamed… She was the only person who had seen me like this that hadn't been completely terrified…

**Chapter Four:**

I don't know what compelled me to follow her, but whatever reason it was, it had me following her from a safe distance up the sidewalk. At first, I glanced around to make sure that no one else could see me, but as I kept walking, the less and less I cared. I was focused on her more than anything.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid…" I muttered under my breath. I was being such an idiot… Why was I following her? If she saw me, she would think of me as some kind of stalker. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked that I was following her. I mean, she had been bullied a lot by other people, one of them being me. Maybe I could make it up to her without her knowing it.

I wanted to slap myself so hard. What was I thinking? Was I actually going to do what that stupid witch told me to? Why should I start a new life? My life was fine the way it was before.

I was about to turn around, go back to my house and forget the whole thing, but I realized that I could never have my old life back; not after what Beatrice did to me. There was no way to meet up with the girls again, no way to go out in big crowds again, no way to…

"Um, do you need something?"

I looked up into the eyes of Christina who was staring at me in confusion. I was only a few feet away from her now.

_Crap… I must've lost track of what I was doing… _There was no way to avoid it now. She was waiting for an answer…

"Um… Not really, no…"

"…Ok…" she said, obviously suspicious and confused.

I saw her house looming over her from behind. I couldn't help but gape at it for a second. It was like a mansion, but just a bit smaller. Maybe she wasn't as big of a loser as I had originally thought. _How did I never notice that she lives in the same area as me?_

"Well, if that's it, then…" she started to turn around and turn the doorknob.

"Wait!"

She looked over her shoulder at me. "Yes?"

"I wanted… I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out some time."

_What did I say that for?!_

"Um… Yeah, sure, ok…" She smiled at me with a mixture of surprise and joy, "I have school tomorrow, but my dad will be at work until 7, so, do you wanna meet up here at 3:30 tomorrow?"

"Y-Yeah sounds good."

"Ok… Well, bye…"

"Bye."

She turned back around and went into her house. The second the door closed, I turned around and face-palmed myself as I started to walk away. Why did I ask her to hang out?! _I had nothing else to say… It just slipped…_

I couldn't help but look back at her luxurious house and think to myself, _she still didn't scream._

**Chapter Five:**

As I walked back up the street, I kept my head low, but couldn't stop thinking about Christina… Why hadn't she screamed? Why hadn't she run away? Why didn't she stare at me like I was a freak all the time?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a little girl pointing at me as her mom pulled her down the sidewalk. Somehow, I didn't care. I guess that as long as one person didn't think I was a monster, then that was good enough for me. I smiled to myself, no longer minding how many people pointed or stared.

I lay on my bed, my arms folded behind my head as I stared up at the ceiling in thought. I thought of the other time I had run into Christina the day after I first met her:

_I was hanging out with the girls at a table outside of the Wellborne. One of the girls tried to tell me a story while Celeste interrupted her to get her two cents in. I never really paid attention to their conversations, as long as they were battling for my attention. I would just nod and smile like I knew exactly what was happening. _

_ "Ugh, here comes the fanatic," Alicia said as she looked back at Christina. She was just walking down the road, minding her own business. She had her head down. She only glanced up at my group once, but instantly turned the other way. One of the girls grinned as she stuck her foot out, causing the unaware Christina to trip over her. Her notebook that she had been clutching firmly in her arms fell to Celeste's feet. _

_ "Ooooh, what's this?" she said mockingly. _

_ "P-Please don't touch that!" Christina cried desperately from the ground. _

_ Celeste picked it up and flipped open the cover. After only looking at one page, she laughed and showed it to Alicia, "Look at how this creepy stuff she has written in here!"_

_ Alicia took it from her hands and read a few of the pages. "'Magic to make my dear parents always get along, magic to make the Sun come out before a thunderstorm…' Oh my gosh, look at this!" She showed the page to Celeste, "'The Seventh Pentacle of the Sun?' What the heck? I can't believe how pathetic your mind is!" _

_ Celeste grabbed the notebook again. She started busting out laughing. She gave me the notebook, unable to contain her laughter as she pointed to the page. I read it out loud, "'Magic to make Sonic the Hedgehog fall in love with me instead of the evil popular girls.'"_

_ The whole group burst into laughter, including me. My sides hurt after a minute of laughter, while Christina looked at us all in horror. I could see that I had the whole group hooked. This was my chance to impress them…_

_ "This is too pitiful…" I ripped out a page of the notebook. Christina gasped in desperation. Tears were coming out of her eyes now. The girls laughed and cheered me on as I ripped out page after page. _

_ "Please! Stop it!" Christina cried. _

_ I was about to rip out another page when I saw what it said. "'Magic to give me the best friends I could ever ask for.'"_

_ "Oh, I remember that!" Alicia chimed in, "'The Seven Sisters of Purgatory', right?"_

_ This caused the entire group to reenter the unstoppable laughter. My fingers rewrapped around the page. _

_ "No, please! Not that page!" Christina cried. _

_ "Why would I keep this one out of all the rest?" I mocked. I ripped it out instantly. Christina gasped as it too slowly descended to the ground along with the other pages. I threw the book onto the ground and stomped on it and rubbed it into the dirt. The other girls continued to laugh wildly as they mocked Christina. I finally released my foot from the book after a minute. The moment my foot lifted, Christina snatched the book up along with all of the torn pages and sprinted down the street, leaving the entire gang and I to laugh endlessly. _

I suddenly realized how bad I felt. Sure, I had bullied a lot of people, but I never thought that I would feel bad for it… Christina was such a nice person… Why had I been so mean to her? _To get the attention of all those girls… _Before I shut my eyes, I decided one thing for myself; I would make it up to Christina, no matter what it took.


	3. Chapter 6, 7 and 8

**Chapter Six:**

After I woke up, I pretty much just sat around, thinking about what I was going to do about my meeting with Christina. What if she changed her mind and suddenly became scared of me? What if she found out who I really was? What would I even say to her? I was the one that asked her to hang out… She would probably ask me why I wanted to hang out when we had never met before…

The more and more I thought about it, the more and more I panicked… I had gotten myself into a real mess. I couldn't just not show up! I could see Christina's disappointed face outside her house if I didn't show…

"I have to make it up to her…" I muttered to myself. As the minutes ticked by, the more and more nervous I became…

After about five long hours, it was almost 3:30. I walked back outside again, squinting as I opened the door. I wasn't as used to sunlight after being inside for twelve hours. I had to go over everything in my head again…

_Ok, just go up to her, say hi… _And that was all I got. Socializing had suddenly become a serious problem for me. I had no idea what I was going to say. I was screwed…

I could see Christina sitting on her porch, her chin in her hands. I unexpectedly started to feel really hot…

She looked up and saw me walking towards her. She smiled at me. I smiled back.

"Hey," she said as she stood up.

"Hey," I said back.

She stepped in front of her door, facing me. I gave her a confused look.

"Before you can go inside, I need to know something first," she said, "… What's your name?"

"M-My name?" I stuttered. _Crap! I didn't think about that! _I knew I would have to come up with something on the spot…

But all that came out was, "I-I don't know…"

She laughed. "You can't be serious. You don't know your own name?"

I swallowed hard. "U-Ummm…"

"If it's an embarrassing name, I promise I won't laugh at it."

"W-Well…"

She stared at me suspiciously. I had no idea what to say… I felt like just running off, but I knew that wasn't really an option. I was forced to just stand there awkwardly. I stared at the ground in embarrassment, a few beads of sweat standing on my forehead.

She gave me a smile. "That's ok. If you don't want to say your name because you're embarrassed, that's fine. I'll just call you…" She thought for a moment, "Werehog."

I just gave her a blank stare. "Werehog…?"

"Do you like it?" she asked, "I mean you kind of look like a werewolf and a hedgehog, so…"

I thought about it for a minute. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I smiled and nodded at her. "That sounds good."

"Good." She opened the door and led me inside. I let out a deep sigh of relief. I had dodged one bullet, now I just had to make sure that I didn't have to face any more.

**Chapter Seven:**

As I walked inside Christina's house, I couldn't help but let out a whistle. The inside of her house was even more luxurious than mine. Christina seemed to notice and smiled.

"Pretty sweet, huh?"

"What kind of job does your dad have?" I asked.

"He's the VP of a technological company."

"Wow…"

"Yeah. Here, sit down if you want to."

I hesitantly sat down on the soft couch, still trying to take in the grandeur of the house.

"Do you need anything?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine."

She sat down in the loveseat across from me. I was still looking around in awe. I couldn't help but wonder something as I continued to gaze at it all.

"Hey, Christina?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you invite me into your house? I mean…" I finally looked at her, "You didn't know me at all before this, and you still barely know me. I'm practically a stranger to you. Why would you let me into your house?"

She stared down at the floor, a sudden sadness coming into her eyes. "Well, you see… I don't have very many friends… Actually, I only really have about eight friends, and they don't even go to my school. So when you asked me to hang out, I got really excited and I didn't want to say no and give up an opportunity to meet someone new."

I stared at her for a second. "How come you don't have any friends at your school?"

The sadness only deepened in her hazel eyes as she spoke again, "There are these girls at my school that make my time there almost impossible. They're really popular, so they have an influence over the entire school. They tell people that I'm just a total freak. Every time they see me, they make a note to completely humiliate me in front of anyone who's around. That's why I can never have friends at my school."

My mind flashed back to that day when they stole her notebook, when they read all of the things inside of it out loud, when they tore the pages out… Correction, when _I _tore the pages out of it. I avoided her gaze for a little while, sadness coming over me as well and shame at what I had done.

"Don't worry about those girls," I said, "They're just a group of annoying divas who think that the universe revolves around them." I was surprised that I had actually said that about them… Just the other night I had wanted to go out with them… But as I thought about it, the more I realized how irritating they actually were.

Christina nodded her head and smiled up at me. "So, Balto, how did you come to know me anyways?"

I gave her a confused look again. "Balto? I thought it was Werehog."

She shrugged. "I might come up with a lot of different nicknames for you since you refuse to tell me your real name."

I couldn't help but smile. "Well, I'd seen you around a lot, and I'd heard your name a few times, so I guess that's how I know you…" I know it wasn't much of a story, but it would work for the time being.

There was a little bit of silence after that. Christina didn't seem to know what to say, and I didn't really know either. So I just decided to ask her another question.

"You said that your dad will be gone until 7… but where's your mom?"

Christina looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Truth be told, I have no clue."

My eyes widened in shock. "What?"

She gave me a small smile, a hint of sadness coming back into her eyes. "My parents got divorced about a year ago. Before that, they didn't really get along for a few years. One day, Mom just snapped. She said she couldn't take it anymore."

I stayed silent and waited for her to continue. She took a deep breath. "My mom was a bit of an alcoholic. She would be out until late at night, then she would come home drunk. My dad started to get worried about her and told her that she should go to rehab, but she wouldn't listen. They started to argue about it for weeks. On that one day when their relationship finally broke, my mom dragged me out of the house while she was drunk and threw me into the car. She threatened to drive off with me and never come back. My dad was able to get me out of the car before she could go anywhere."

She started to choke up. A few tears stood in her eyes. "The next day, they filed for divorce. When there was a custody battle, my dad won on the grounds of my mother's alcohol consumption. Afterwards, she left, and I never saw her again."

A few tears were dripping off of her face. I felt really bad for her, but I wasn't really sure what to do. I stood up, walked over and sat down next to her. I put one hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry that that happened to you," I said, "really, I am."

She  
looked up at me with gratitude. "Thank you," she whispered, "Thank you."

I don't know why, but as she continued to cry, I pulled her into my arms and held her close to me. She seemed to welcome the hug and cried into me for several more minutes.

**Chapter Eight:**

The more I talked to Christina, the more I realized that she wasn't really a freak; she was actually really nice. Why Celeste, Alicia and the others felt the need to pick on her was beyond me. She was an interesting person, and I mean that in a good way. We talked until about 6:30, and then I left.

"Will you come back some other time?" she asked.

"Of course," I said, "How about tomorrow?"

Her eyes widened. "Really? Tomorrow? O-Ok… Same time?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Ok, see ya."

"Bye."

I smiled to myself as I went back to my house. I no longer felt peoples' stares as they walked down the sidewalk. I just felt the pure joy in my heart.

I talked to Christina every day until the weekend. Since her dad was home, I couldn't really talk to her without him seeing me. But I decided to try anyways. I couldn't think of any other way to pass the time, and I really didn't want to be without Christina for more than a day.

I knocked on her door, praying that she would be the one to answer. She opened the door halfway.

"Balto? What're you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you again."

"Oh… Well, unless you can reach my bedroom window, then you're out of luck. If my dad sees you at all he might freak out… no offense."

"None taken." I looked up at the second floor windows, "Is it one of the ones up there?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, the second one to the right. Why?"

I smiled at her. "Don't worry, I can get up there."

She gave me a puzzled look.

"Chrissy? Who's at the door?"

Christina turned back inside. "No one Dad, just a salesman."

She turned back to me for a second. "I guess I'll meet you upstairs then," she whispered. She turned around and shut the door behind her. I laughed softly to myself. She didn't think that I could actually get up there.

I reached out my stretchable arm and grabbed the windowsill. I pulled myself up onto it and stood on the tiny ledge.

Inside, I could see Christina opening her bedroom door. The second she saw me, she gasped and almost fell over backwards. I laughed out loud as she caught her breath.

She unlocked the window and pulled it up. "How in the heck did you get up here?" she asked in awe.

I grinned. "I have my ways."

She rolled her eyes at me. She let me climb into her room before she shut the window again. I looked around at her walls, which were decorated with things from other countries.

As I continued to examine each one, Christina said, "My dad takes a lot of business trips to all kinds of different places around the world. He goes to places like Japan, China, Germany, Australia, and England…"

"Man, what else does he do?" I asked.

She giggled. "That's it, really. Other than that, he either works in his office or here at home."

She went over to one of her dressers and pulled open one of the drawers. I watched her as she gingerly pulled something out of it. The second I saw what it was, my eyes locked on it in fear.

There, clutched in her hands, was the notebook. She shyly looked down at the ground.

"Balto," she said, "we've known each other for a little while now and, well…" she paused for a moment, "I haven't really told anyone about this, but I trust you." She looked up at me, "If I show you this, do you promise to keep this a secret?"

I nodded, my eyes still fixated on the book.

"Do you promise not to think of me any differently?"

I nodded.

She sat down on her bed and gestured for me to sit next to her. I sat down, my hands shaking as she handed me the notebook. I carefully flipped open the cover and read the first page. There was some kind of weird circle drawn on it that had weird writing in the circumference. In the middle of it was some kind of a scorpion symbol. Underneath of the circle it said, "The fifth magic circle of Mars. It has the power to block magic."

I continued to flip through the pages, occasionally coming across strange circles like that one, but on other pages, there were different things written. Some of them stated different magical powers, while others talked about different witches and other magical beings.

After a certain point, I started to notice that some of the pages had been taped back in. I swallowed hard. I recognized what was written on them: "The seventh pentacle of the Sun", "Magic to make my dear parents always get along"… Now I knew why she had written that in there. As I looked at it closer, I saw small gray circles on the page, as if someone's tears had dropped onto the page…

I already knew why they had needed to be taped back in, but I asked anyways, "What happened to these pages?"

Christina looked sadly into her lap. "Someone tore them out…"

_Why didn't she say who? _"O-Oh…"

I saw the page that said, "Magic to give me the best friends I could ever ask for". Underneath of the heading, a subtitle said, "The Seven Sisters of Purgatory". I remembered Alicia mocking Christina for this page especially. This one had meant so much to Christina… Now I knew why…

Seven names were written under the subtitle: Lucifer of Pride, Leviathan of Envy, Satan of Wrath, Belphegor of Sloth, Mammon of Greed, Beelzebub of Gluttony, and Asmodeus of Lust.

"Those are seven of my eight friends," Christina said, "or… well, seven of my _nine _friends now." She smiled at me.

I smiled back. I flipped over to another page, and that's when I saw it: The page that had me in it. "Magic to make Sonic the Hedgehog fall in love with me instead of the evil popular girls". There were imprints of tears on this page too.

My throat felt dry as I asked, "Who's this?"

Christina looked down at the page. "Oh… No one… Just someone I used to have a crush on… He's also the one that ripped out those pages…" She looked down again and left it at that.

I couldn't help but look over at her. I felt so horrible… I had gotten to know her so well… I had gotten to know what a nice person she was, and even though I pretended like I was oblivious to her past problems, deep down inside, I was the person that had caused those problems. I was still the same person that had made her so miserable.

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Christina," I said softly, "I just want you to know… Seeing all of that doesn't make me think any differently of you. I still like you as a friend. I won't tell anyone about this, I swear."

She looked over at me, that gratitude shimmering in her eyes again. "Thank you," she whispered. I took my hand off of her shoulder and entwined her fingers in mine. She leaned her head against my shoulder. I blushed slightly, enjoying being so close to her. I couldn't ignore the fluttering in my stomach. We stayed like that for a couple of minutes.

After a short while, Christina asked, "Werehog? Can I tell you one more secret of mine?"

I nodded. "Of course."

She took her head off of my shoulder and looked at me. "You have to promise not to think of me as some freak after I tell you though, ok?"

"Ok. What is it?"

She nervously looked down again. "Well… I've… I've met a witch before…"

I just stared at her. "Really? Which one?"

She took a deep breath then stared at me straight in the eye as she said, "Beatrice the Golden Witch."


End file.
